Sculpture Milwaukee hopes to land Mickalene Thomas for public artwork

Mickalene Thomas, known for glittering images of empowered black women, will create her first major public sculpture this year -- Sculpture Milwaukee, the outdoor exhibit on Wisconsin Ave.(Photo: Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art)

Mickalene Thomas, known for glorious, glittering images of empowered black women, has been commissioned to create her first major public sculpture – for the streets of Milwaukee.

The New York-based artist, recently described by Smithsonian magazine as altering the course of art history and ushering in a new generation of artists, is slated to produce a 14-foot fiberglass sculpture for Sculpture Milwaukee. However, some "contractural issues" arose on Saturday related to the project, said Russell Bowman, an art consultant working with Sculpture Milwaukee and the former director of the Milwaukee Art Museum. The group is hoping to resolve those issues soon, he added.

The annual sculpture exhibition on Wisconsin Ave. will have its second iteration from June to October and feature about 23 artworks from local and international artists.

We’ll have to wait to see what kind of outsize statement of #blackgirlpower Thomas might create for Milwaukee. The artist, who is out of the country, has not started work on it. What we do know is it will likely be inspired by Thomas’ earlier portraits of black women, said Marilu Knode, project director for Sculpture Milwaukee.

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Travus Copeland (left) Peter Kenar (center) and Ryan Campagna, all with Methods & Materials Inc. out of Chicago, configure a steel base for a large artwork (background) titled "Mood Sculpture." The sculpture, created by Tony Tasset, is a series of painted fiberglass balls with different emojis that is being installed in front of 411 E. Wisconsin Ave. A series of 22 sculptures are being installed on Wisconsin Avenue, from O'Donnell Park to N. 6th St. in downtown Milwaukee as part of the Sculpture Milwaukee exhibit. Sculpture Milwaukee will be on view June 1 to Oct. 22.
Mike De Sisti, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Jaalah Hall, an intern, works on a sculpture titled The Legend of the White Snake consisting of PVC pipes, by artist Jason S. Yi of Milwaukee. Its on the northeast corner of W. Wisconsin Ave. and N. 6th St.
Mike De Sisti, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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Bowman said Sculpture Milwaukee was looking for "someone of her stature."

"She is hugely important as a contemporary American artist," said Catharina Manchanda, curator of modern and contemporary art at the Seattle Art Museum. "She's a woman, she's an openly lesbian woman, and the way in which she's laying claim to different spaces, intellectually and representationally, is just hugely important. There is really no one like her." Like the exultant vision of “Black Panther,” a little girl's wonderment at Michelle Obama’s portrait or the image of Lena Waithe on the cover of Vanity Fair, the Thomas commission is evidence that representation matters.

“I love her work,” says artist Della Wells. “We just don’t see black women in art – especially work by black artists – in this city.”

"While the women in my work celebrate different notions of beauty, I think simultaneously they are providing a confrontational barrier that challenges the clichés traditionally laid on women of color,” Thomas told the website Broadly in 2016. “Through their assertive gazes, they are demanding to be seen, to be heard, and to be acknowledged.”

Thomas’ portraits draw inspiration from an impressive range of pop culture and the fashion and decor of her 1970s childhood in New Jersey. They are often based on her mother, friends, historical figures and celebrities such as Whitney Houston, Eartha Kitt and Whoopi Goldberg. Some works restage famous paintings and challenge conventional ideas about beauty, gender, race and the depiction of women, especially black women.

Her work is an “unvarnished celebration” of black femininity, Knode said. Sculpture Milwaukee hopes to announce its full roster of artists by the end of April.

“Taking on these women as these very glamorous, assured, sexy subjects, I think it all goes back to my mother,” Thomas said in a video about her work.

“I just really started thinking about women like her, and I wanted to celebrate black femininity and that sexuality in a different way…” she added.

Wells says she grew up believing all art was made by white men. She believes Thomas’ work gives young women, especially young black women, and young artists something to aspire to.

“I think we need to see more of these images,” she said.

"You know, whatever she's going to do, she's going to make something glamorous and fabulous," said Manchanda, who curated "Figuring History," a show featuring Thomas currently on view at the Seattle museum. "And if you're a person of color, to be recognized in such a prominent place, in a mode that's truly celebratory, I think that would just have a hugely positive impact on people living in Milwaukee and visitors alike."